Now, customers will have to make a purchase to land their freebie hot beverage.

So successful has the scheme been, that it now rivals coffee shops such as Starbucks and Costa in terms of the sheer volume of coffee it "sells". But, the new restriction is being added to the loyalty card holder benefit.

"We are carrying out a trial in eight branches where we will be making a small change. We'll simply be asking myWaitrose members in these shops to make a purchase before collecting their free coffee at the checkout," the company said in a statement.

It told the newspaper it has not decided on how long the trial will last or whether it will be applied to other locations, likely leaving middle England waking up in a cold sweat over the future of the freebie.